Toronto Blue Jays offseason wish list: 2B trade candidates

The makeup of the AL East is changing, giving the Toronto Blue Jays an opportunity to sneak through the teams that have been winners in past seasons.

This post is the fifth in a series of articles surrounding the moves the team needs to make in the 2012-13 off-season. First we explored the possible Free Agent players that are available, and now it will be the possible trade candidates. The team has many holes to fill should they wish to be competitive.

So far we’ve explored the Jays’ options for Free Agent 1B/DH, 2B, SP, and OF types. This next post will cover trade candidates at second base that the Jays may wish to target.

There are a number of expectations that I would have for a new 2B, and here they are listed below in order of importance:

Above replacement level offence and defence. Potential fWAR in the 3.0 to 5.0 range, UZR between 5.0 and 10.0

Younger than 30, preferably with two to three years of arbitration eligible control

Moderate power, with an ISO number somewhere in the .150 to .175 (or better) range

Great base-running skills, though not necessarily raw speed or base-stealing ability. Going first-to-third and taking extra bases is key

The ability to switch hit, or at least not struggle against either left-handed or right-handed pitchers.

Obviously finding one player with all of these criteria would be rather difficult, and I wouldn’t expect that the players that the Jays target would fit the bill completely. However, retaining a player who can be most of these things would be of great value for the team.

The players listed below are those who I believe qualify. It should be pointed out though that some or all of them might not come to Toronto for a multitude of reasons. Their current teams may not be willing to part with them. The Jays may not have the correct package of players to offer in return. The player might have some form of trade protection, though that is rare for young players. In any case, this list is merely an idea of who could be available in a trade. I can’t possibly be privy to all the machinations and inner workings of MLB trades, so please keep that all in mind.

Asdrubal Cabrera – SS/2B – Cleveland Indians – S/R

Cabrera has been a shortstop since the 2009 season, after spending the first to years of his career primarily as a 2B. He’s been an All-Star the last two years, compiling an fWAR of 3.9 and 2.8 respectively. He’ll be 27 next year, and is under contract until 2014 for $16.5M. Defensively he doesn’t fit the bill at either position, though he has been moderately better as a 2B. The good news is that the Indians have prospects Francisco Lindor and Tony Wolters likely to make debuts in 2014, and may be willing to give up Cabrera for the right package. They are a little weak in pitching prospects, which is one of Toronto’s strengths.

Jason Kipnis – 2B – Cleveland Indians – L/R

He may not be a household name yet, but Kipnis could be a big wheel down at the cracker factory one day. Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs.com

After being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft, Kipnis put together a pretty tidy minor league career, marked with very good OBP numbers. He’s not stellar defensively, but can handle 2B competently. The key with the 25-year-old is his controllability. He’s not arbitration eligible until 2015 and not a free agent until 2018. He could likely be had for less than what it would take to get Cabrera, but there is probably less upside.

Ian Kinsler – 2B – Texas Rangers – R/R

This is probably the biggest stretch of all the players mentioned in this post, but please do humour me. Kinsler is under contract until 2018, being paid $82/M over that span (team option in 2018 at $12M, with $5M buyout), so he won’t be looking for more money or need to be re-signed anytime soon. He does turn 31 next year, had a down year in 2012, and may be beginning his slide to mediocrity. He’s also a 3-time All-Star, widely considered to be one of the premier 2B in the league, and the Rangers may not be willing to part with him. However, they have both Jurickson Profar and Elvis Andrus at SS, either of which could probably play 2B very easily. But what would Texas want in-return?

Howie Kendrick – 2B/1B – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – R/R

Kendrick is a lot like Kinsler in that they are unlikely to be pried away from their current teams. Howie’s deal has him signed through 2015 at $27.6M with limited no-trade protection. LA does have Taylor Lindsey and Alex Yarbrough in the Minors, though both are a couple years away from making the show. Kendrick only signed his deal in January of this year, and is, by all reports I’ve been able to find, happy there. The Angels’ farm system is quite strong in the area of starting pitching, but weak at OF and C. Could a deal sending J.P. Arencibia, Travis d’Arnaud, or A.J. Jimenez be interesting to GM Jerry Dipoto?

Dustin Ackley – 2B – Seattle Mariners – L/R

Ackley has shown some decent numbers in limited play in his career so far. Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs.com

The Seattle 2B had a fantastic 2011, nailing down a .337 wOBA in 276 PA. His 2012 was a down year, but he’s widely considered to be a future star. Ackley is controllable until the end of 2017, not hitting the arbitration years until 2015. Offensively he could be tremendous, and has been great on defence with a 6.7 UZR in 2012. Seattle has a mid-level farm system, with strength in pitching, with the bad news being a lack of viable options up the middle. Why would they trade away a potential All-Star 2B and leave the cupboard bare?

Brandon Phillips – 2B – Cincinnati Reds – R/R

April 10, 2012 was probably one of the biggest days in the life of Brandon Phillips, as he was inked to a 6-year $72.5M contract extension with the Cincinnati Reds. I know that Phillips has been a big part of team’s resurgence, but this deal seemed very curious to me. He will be 37 by the time the deal is complete, making $14M dollars in 2017, and probably not providing much more value than he does now. While his 2011 fWAR of 6.0 was quite impressive, his other 5 years since coming over from the Indians in 2006 have seen something in the mid-4-fWAR range. Don’t get me wrong, those are good numbers, but if he struggles in the latter part of his career, that contract will be a heavy weight around the Reds’ neck. I wouldn’t want to bring that deal into my team. His contract and output might look a lot like Kinsler in Texas, but even cursory examination of OBP, SLG, wOBA, and wRC+ info show Phillips to be inferior. However, he is clearly superior on defence. Too rich for my blood.

Rickie Weeks – 2B – Milwaukee Brewers – R/R

Weeks, who turns 30 next year, is a bit of a defensive liability at 2B, but has the potential to be a monster offensive player. 2012 was a let-down for Brewers’ fans, but Rickie could add as much as 6.0 fWAR. He’s only controllable until the end of 2015, at $32.5M owed to him until then. Milwaukee has one of the worst farm systems in the league, and is probably looking to re-stock. They also consider themselves to be in the running in the NL Central, and losing a piece like Weeks would harm that. I don’t imagine prospects would be good enough for GM Doug Melvin as he’d want game-ready players, probably MLB-level starting pitchers. The Jays just don’t have any of those to give away.

I don’t think it’s particularly likely that the Jays will make trades for any of the players I’ve mentioned above. However, I don’t think I’d be upset if they were to make equitable deals for any of these players. None of them are likely to be an awful mistake, though I think Kipnis and Ackley are the least proven of the bunch.

The key is going to be finding out what each of these teams needs in return for their prized 2B possessions. Depending on whose rankings you trust, the Jays do have one of the top 5 farm systems in the League. Unfortunately there’s isn’t much at the Big League level that they’d be willing to part with to make a deal. Teams may be interested in Jose Bautista, Brandon Morrow, Edwin Encarnacion, Arencibia, and Brett Lawrie, but GM Alex Anthopoulos will have to be impressed with the return to consider moving any of these guys. Yunel Escobar, Adeiny Hechavarria, Colby Rasmus, and Ricky Romero might also be available, but are they really worth much?

No, it’s probably more likely that any deals that get done this off-season will have to involve a chunk of the farm system. 2B isn’t the team’s biggest priority, especially now with the signing of Maicer Izturis, a player who may very well be the team’s opening day starter.

I would hazard a guess to say that we’ll see Anthopoulos make a deal for starting pitching, and maybe an Outfielder, depending on the decision to move Bautista into a 1B/DH role.

Toronto-based baseball blogger; lover of wheat beer and great vodka; fervent Secular Humanist; that guy you meet at a party who seems boorish and loud, then maybe he redeems himself, but eventually you... read more see your first impression was accurate. Follow me on Twitter: @LoRichTimes.View author's profile